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Suppose both John and Bill work for the Georgia Transportation Department. A road resurfacing project is underway and sealed construction bids are coming into the department. On Monday they are both caught selling confidential pricing information to a potential contractor.

Dismissal procedures against John were started. As his right under the civil service he appealed. His case could go on for over a year. Bill wasn’t so lucky. By Friday, his case had been reviewed and he was fired with no appeal.

So what’s the difference between these two men? Was their work history different? Did John go to college with the boss? Was Bill a total loser disliked by all his coworkers? Any difference between these two men is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is Georgia Senate Bill 635. This new law ends all civil service rights for anyone hired after July 1st, 1996. Quite simply, John was hired before that date and Bill was hired afterwards.

This was just an imaginary example of my own creation, but it’s a likely scenario. If you work under a civil service system, like I do, I’m sure you have your own set of horror stories of incompetent idiots that can never be fired. Or maybe you’re that idiot, satisfied in the knowledge that practically no matter what, you wont be fired, and you will still get an annual raise. Perhaps you are happy with your small but steady pay increase every year. Or perhaps you are a real go-getter who resents that your coworker who come to work late every day gets the same raise as you who stays late every evening.

Maybe you remember the crushing union opposition that demolished Massachusetts Governor Weld when he attempted the same for his state. Even in Texas where unions are weak to begin with, recent attempts by the legislature to create at will employment were also defeated. Several years ago Florida tried it as well with no success.

Somehow, Georgia succeeded. I don’t live in Georgia. I can’t give you a first hand account of this. I don’t know if managers are dancing in the street or if workers are shaking in their boots. But since this is my soapbox, I’ll give you lots of opinion. Well reasoned opinion of course.

My annual pay raise is comforting. Aside from the rare possibility of a furlough, I never wonder if today I will be downsized. I never wonder if I’ll get fired. I also have absolutely no incentive to work hard. I don’t care if the to do list is ever finished. And I never expect the slightest amount of recognition for extraordinary work. I know I will never get a bonus for beating the deadline by two months. It’s depressing.

I have a Bachelors in Public Administration and a Masters in Public Policy. A few years ago I had vision of changing bureaucracy. I really considered government employment a service to this country. In my career I have met many people who have felt the same. Contrary to the stereotype, there are many dedicated hardworking employees in the government. Unfortunately, they never seem to last long. They quit. I wonder how soon I will do the same. Any compensation system that is not based on performance is doomed. In theory, civil service is a merit system. You pass a few tests to get in. Then the system rewards seniority, since experience is the best sign of ability.

But it doesn’t work. All that civil service has accomplished is the creation of a system of apathy. Employees do not care about the quality of their work because there is no reward for success, and more important there are no ramifications for failure.

As I see it, the basic arguments against dismantling a civil service system is that it prevents patronage; hiring unqualified individuals as favors. Anyone who thinks this isn’t happening now is incredibly naive -- or stupid. And thanks to civil service they can keep their jobs.